Hello and happy Wednesday everyone! For some of you, it may feel like the week has been dragging on forever and you can not wait to go for a drink on Friday evening. Well, why not make it something that you can add to your spiritual practice? There are many ways to incorporate magick into our lives. Brews or potions are an option we hear about often or see on television.
“People have been fascinated by the idea of bubbling cauldrons full of magic brews since that old time immemorial.”
How do we truly incorporate that? Blackthorn has our answer!
In Blackthorn’s Botanical Brews, the author discusses various alcohols and herbs that can be used to make magickal drinks.
Blackthorn’s Botanical Brews 
Author: Amy Blackthorn
Publisher: Weiser Books
Published: October 5th 2020
Book Length: 272 Pages
Genre: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Cookbook
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Buy the book: Amazon, Weiser Books
*I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest, unbiased review*
•Getting to Know Your Spirits
•Adding Magic to Your Daily Activities
•In the Kitchen
•In the Bar
•Fruit Feeling Frisky (Making Sodas and Syrups)
•Herbal Beers, Mead, and Cider
•What to Do with Leftover Potions?
When I first agreed to review this title from Weiser Books, I thought I would encounter a book of alcoholic recipes, but I found so much more. The book begins with the question, “Does magic work?” The author’s response is perfect:
“Absolutely. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t have spent almost thirty years on it.”
Blackthorn talks about a personal experience that really made their story relatable.
The first few chapters walk the reader through the basics of magick in the kitchen and house setting, leading up to the chapter about tools. With regard to the tools section, I actually learned a lot. I knew little about various glasses since I only use a few. I found the beginning typical of many spiritual books, but that is wonderful. It allows a beginner to pick up the book and learn the basics before putting the rest of the book into practice. Here, they spoke of grounding and centering before practice which is so important. I was very happy to see that talked about first. I think my favorite part of these first sections was the comparison of magick to the scientific method. Being an individual with a scientific college background, I always look for the science behind things. Comparing the method of how a scientist proceeds with research and how a practitioner uses magick was wonderful.
I also wanted to touch on the fact that Blackthorn mentions the “love and Light” community. They mention that we need balance, and there can not be positive without negative. It is so common for new-age spiritualists to see the positive but refuse to see the negative.
Now, I will say that many who do not drink alcohol might think the book has nothing for them. Quite the contrary! For every brew or potion, Blackthorn also lists at least one “Sober Substitution.” This makes the book more inclusive. There is no shame in not drinking, and I enjoyed that this book did not exclude this group.
Moving on, there are many correspondences and lore for various ingredients and types of alcohol. This is very informative and useful for more than just making drinks. The recipes that follow are detailed and easy to follow. From drinks to baked goods, there is something for everyone here. I am not sure how Chai deviled eggs will be, but I love Chai tea and eggs. I may give that a try.
Safety precautions are listed at the end, letting readers know about dosing and the importance of scientific names of plants.
“Natural does not mean safe.”
This is a wonderful book that is written in an easy-to-understand format. Blackthorn is a seasoned practitioner ready to give proper advice and safety information about creating special potions for magickal uses, alcoholic or not. The back of the book provides a botanical classification list as well as an index for the recipes, making it easy to find information at any time. I will be trying a few of these drinks and recipes…will you?
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This book sounds delightful, especially for an old hippie like myself, naturalist, and fantasy writer. It checks all the boxes. Lol. And I love that it have a “sober substitution” since I don’t drink often enough to have a book solely about alcoholic drinks. Great review and thanks for the recommendation!
I don’t drink enough for that either. And when I was breastfeeding, I couldn’t drink at all. It’s nice to see alternatives.
I’m so glad you like it! I really enjoyed this book for sure